Obama wins, Janet goes to D.C., who wins, who loses

If Barack Obama were to beat John McCain, there is a very good chance Governor Janet Napolitano could be offered a job in the administration.  While it is very unlikely she would be offered the VEEP spot, there is a strong possibility her early loyalty would be rewarded with a cabinet position.

If Napolitano were to move on to Washington, Arizona’s political landscape would be tossed on its head overnight.  Look into the Inside Edge crystal ball as we predict what that week’s Winners and Losers would look like.  

Winners

Jan Brewer
Not only would the secretary of state become Governor Jan Brewer overnight, she would then be in office as a sitting incumbent come 2010.

Dennis Burke
The governor’s Chief of Staff would almost certainly end up as the Chief of Staff to the U.S. Attorney General or Department of Homeland Security and would be on his way to D.C. 

Leezie Kim
Kim, who recently moved from private practice to become the governor’s general counsel, would be on a short list for a U.S. Attorney spot.

Pro-life movement
With Napolitano out of the way the pro-life community could start moving legislation forward with hope of it being signed by the governor. 

State Republican Party
If the party holds both the Senate and the House in November, the party would have total control over state government and could use it to their advantage in fundraising. 

Losers

Gubernatorial hopefuls on the Republican side
Mary Peters, Andrew Thomas and any other prospective candidates would now be facing an incumbent from their own party.  While someone may still step up to the plate and challenge Brewer, their job becomes a whole lot harder.

Randy Pullen
With Brewer in charge and gearing up for re-election she would more than likely want someone she trusts completely running the office that will be out to protect her and prevent a primary.

Terry Goddard
The attorney general would become the highest elected Democratic official in the state.  Assuming he is the nominee in 2010 he now has the difficult challenge of taking on a sitting governor.  He would be trying to do something that hasn’t been done since 1966, unseat a sitting governor in an election.  And it should be noted that governor who lost re-election was Samuel Goddard, Terry’s father.

LGBT community
They lose the strongest advocate they have had in Arizona and would likely be facing a rollback of Napolitano’s executive order banning discrimination in state government based on sexual orientation.

Jim Weiers
It may seem weird to place a Republican Speaker of the House as a loser when a Republican takes over the governor’s office, but it’s true.  Right now Weiers gains his power as the leader of the opposition party.  With a Republican governor Weiers would lose that power and for the most part would need to follow the governor’s lead.

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